| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — Rivers Bridge State Historic Site |
| | ( Left side )
The Legacy of Total War
From January to March in 1865 more than
60,000 Union soldiers led by General
William Tecumseh Sherman marched
across South Carolina. They brought
total war to the state, destroying
railroads, factories and farms and
attacking civilian morale.
( Right side )
Sherman's march through South Carolina
helped bring the Civil War to an end. For
many Union soldiers, the march was an
opportunity to punish South Carolina,
widely . . . — Map (db m15646) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — 5-1 — Battle Of Rivers Bridge |
| | Here on February 3, 1865, the 17th U.S. Army Corps led by Major General Joseph A. Mower and Lieut. Gen. Giles A. Smith attacked the Confederate division of Major General Lafayette McLaws and forced the crossing of Salkehatchie River, after a gallant defense by
outnumbered forces which held up for two days Sherman's march through Carolina. — Map (db m11318) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — Battle of Rivers' Bridge Feb. 2-3, 1865 |
| | Invasion! In January 1865, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's army of 60,000 Union soldiers invaded South Carolina. Its goals: to link up with Ulysses S. Grant's forces opposing Robert E. Lee's Confederates in Virginia and destroy the South's ability and will to support troops in the field. Here, on February 2-3, 1865, part of Sherman's army clashed with Confederate troops along the Salkehatchie River. In the two-day battle of Rivers Bridge, Confederates made the most
determined resistance . . . — Map (db m7437) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — Battle of Rivers' Bridge Feb. 2-3, 1865 |
| | Dig In Part of McLaws' division protected the middle crossing of the Salkehatchie at Rivers Bridge. This small force, consisting of a brigade of Georgia infantrymen, South Carolina cavalrymen and four cannons of the South Carolina Light Artillery, prepared a
reception for Union troops attempting to cross the river. Their strong position -- a bluff overlooking a narrow road leading out of a thick swamp -- was made even stronger with temporary earthen fortifications.
"I had, during . . . — Map (db m7441) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — Battle of Rivers' Bridge Feb. 2-3, 1865 |
| | Crucial Routes to the Heart of the State: The Salkehatchie River Crossings As Sherman's right wing- about 28,000 men underGen. Oliver Otis Howard- advanced up the south side of the Salkehatchie, Gen. Lafayette McLaws' Confederate division marched into position on the river's north side. Howard was to capture the Salkehatchie crossings, link up with the Union left wing and cut the railroad from Augusta to Charleston. The combined force was then to move on its ultimate objective --Columbia. . . . — Map (db m7440) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — Battle of Rivers' Bridge Feb. 2-3, 1865 |
| | "This Indescribably Ugly Salkehatchie " At Rivers Bridge the Salkehatchie flowed though a swamp a
half mile wide. The only road through it was a narrow earthen causeway with multiple wooden bridges. The Confederates hoped the thick swamp and chest-deep water would hinder the Union advance. "a dog could scarcely make his way through the swamp" recalled a Union soldier. After the battle, Union Gen. Howard called the river " this indescribably Ugly Salkehatchie."
"So immense are the . . . — Map (db m7455) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — Battle of Rivers' Bridge Feb. 2-3, 1865 |
| | A Running Battle on the River Road On Feb.2, Union troops moved up the road on the opposite bank of the Salkehatchie, fighting a running battle with the Confederate cavalrymen who tried to slow their advance. Among the casualties was Pvt. John B. Woods of the 3rd South Carolina Cavalry. Shot in the leg, Woods later bled to death at Rivers Bridge, where his unit took up position near here on the Confederate left flank. — Map (db m7457) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — Battle of Rivers' Bridge Feb. 2-3, 1865 |
| | Attack! Gen. Joseph A. Mower's Union division advanced rapidly to Rivers Bridge on the afternoon of Feb. 2 and charged down a narrow causeway. Confederate cannon fire stopped the attack and forced the Yankees to take cover in the cold swamp. The battle was on, pitting 7,000 to 9,000 Union soldiers against 700 to 800 Confederates. Even after reinforcements arrived, the Confederates were still outnumbered more than eight to one. "The enemy swarmed in great numbers to the edge of the . . . — Map (db m7456) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — Battle of Rivers' Bridge Feb. 2-3, 1865 |
| | A Vulnerable Stronghold The Confederates were confident they could stop another head-on Union assault. But they feared for the safety of their flanks, knowing they did not have enough men to resist attacks that might strike the ends of their thin line.
"I can hold my position here, General, until next Christmas if you can keep them off my flanks." -Lt.Col. Edwin H. Bacon, 32nd Georgia Infantry, to Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Feb. 3, 1865 Abatis bristled from the front of the . . . — Map (db m7458) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — Battle of Rivers' Bridge Feb. 2-3, 1865 |
| | The End is Near
The Union Victory broke the main Confederate line of defense in lower South Carolina. McLaws' troops retreated to another line behind the Edisto River about 20 miles northeast of here, then continued to fall back as Sherman's army advanced. Two weeks after the battle, Sherman's troops took Columbia. Less
than three months after the battle at Rivers Bridge, the war ended.
" Again at the hospital I see the horrid results of every battle. Men mutilated in every . . . — Map (db m7467) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — Battle of Rivers' Bridge Feb. 2-3, 1865 |
| | Death and Defeat
As Mower's troops flanked the Confederate right, another Union division crossed several miles downstream to flank the Confederate left. Under a smokescreen created by a rapid artillery and rifle volleys, the Southerners withdrew. Before the retreat, a Union sharpshooter crawled close to the Confederate
cannons and killed Lt. Simeon S. Kirby. Pvt. W.M. Larke
borrowed a rifle to shoot the Yankee. "I took aim at the fellow and hollered at him," Larke recalled. "When he . . . — Map (db m7464) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — 5-9 — Battle At Rivers Bridge / Rivers Bridge Memorials |
| | ( Front text )
Battle At Rivers Bridge
On February 2 ~ 3, 1865, as Gen. W.T. Sherman's
Federals advanced toward Columbia, units of
Gen. F.P. Blair's XVII Corps attempted to cross
the Salkehatchie River at Rivers Bridge. The
Confederate defenders there, in Gen. Lafayette
McLaws's division of the Dept. of S.C., Ga., and
Fla., delayed the Federals for almost two days.
Each side lost about 100 men killed, wounded,
or captured.
( Reverse text )
Rivers Bridge . . . — Map (db m7708) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — Our Confederate Dead Rivers Bridge State Park |
| | Most of the Confederates killed here were Georgians,
and most were unknown when they were reburied. But
the local community remembered them as " our
Confederate dead, " the fallen heroes of a common cause. The monument placed over their mass grave in 1878 resembled a large tombstone, reflecting the grief of a region coming to terms with death and defeat. It became the focal point for remembering the dead and vindicating their cause at the annual memorial services.
" In no other war in . . . — Map (db m15650) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — Rivers Bridge Confederate Dead |
| |
( Front face )
In Memory
of our
Confederate Dead
who fell in battle at
River's Bridges
Feb. 4, 1865.
(Reverse face )
Soldier's rest, your welfare o'er,
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,
Dream of battlefields no more,
Days of danger, nights of waking. — Map (db m15652) |
| South Carolina (Bamberg County), Ehrhardt — A Tradition of Remembering, A Legacy of Preservation |
| | Eleven years after the battle of Rivers Bridge,
a group of local young men formed the Rivers
Bridge Confederate Memorial Association and
reburied the Confederate dead here, about a
mile from the battlefield. The Memorial
Association began to meet at the site every year
to recall the battle and the fallen Southerners.
This area soon became known as the Memorial
Grounds, and the Memorial Association's
annual service to commemorate the Confederate
dead - a tradition that continues to . . . — Map (db m15671) |
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